Crazy thing, that fear. Irrational even. Actually, quite often irrational.
Fear isn’t always a bad thing. It tells us when there’s danger. It starts our bodies on a response journey that enables us to fight or flee if necessary.
I’m not talking about that someone chasing you in the middle of the woods kind of fear.
I’m facing a irrational fear right now.
I have a fear of not being able to breathe….
…in water.
I’m not afraid of water. I can swim. I just prefer to swim with my head ABOVE the water line.
I’m training for my first triathlon. I’m actually kinda excited. It will test my limits, and weird as this sounds, I’m excited about that. Excited to strive for something “out of my league.” To have a big goal and to accomplish it.
Except for this whole swimming with my head under water thing (imagine me pulling up my lip here, blech).
I could do the triathlon with a head-above-water breast stroke or side stroke. Except those aren’t very fast. The crawl is a much better choice. I don’t expect to finish the race with a good time, but I would enjoy not being last. It’s important to me that I conquer this fear.
It’s not a debilitating fear. I can do it. But let’s just say I don’t need the exercise of swimming to get my heart rate up. It does it all on it’s own. I get about halfway across the pool and I can feel a tiny bit of panic creeping in.
Irrational. I know I can swim. At any time I can stick my head above water, doggie paddle, whatever…and get plenty of air. But while my head is in the water, and when I turn my head to the side, I wonder…will air be there?
Are you in the middle of an adoption? Or are you thinking about adopting? There are a lot of unknowns. And unknowns can lead to fear.
What if I don’t love an adopted child like he/she is “my own”?
What if I can’t handle the emotional special needs he/she may (will) have?
What if our adopted child has physical needs we weren’t prepared for?
What if I’m not equipped to be a good Mom/Dad?
What if the child doesn’t love me?
What if we go through this whole roller coaster process only to have it all fall through?
What if I can’t handle it?
Whew. A lot of what if’s aren’t there? A lot of fears. Rational or not.
I’ve heard it said there are 365 “fear nots” or “do not fear” or “don’t worries” in the Bible. I thought that was pretty cool…one for every day. Turns out it’s not quite true. It’s actually almost 400 times the Bible tells us not to fear. Hmmm…those must be for the days we need it more than one.
Friends, fear is not of God.
Here’s just one passage, maybe something you need to hear today:
“So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
When I’m swimming I am talking to God almost constantly. Well between counting my strokes to know when I can breathe again.
Lord God, I trust You. Lord God, be with me. Lord God, help me overcome this fear. Lord Jesus, swim with me…
Let’s work together, shall we? You, me and God. Friend, we can do it. Let’s overcome.
